Platform shoe



Oct. 20, 1942. F. clAlo PLATFORM SHOE Filed July 9, 1941 INVENTOR.

Patented` Oct. 20, 1942 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PLATFORM snor.Frank ciaio, onronn, Long Island, N. Y.

Application July 9, 1941, Serial No. 401,569

(o1. sis-z) 3 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates to the shoe art and deals more specifically withthat class of shoes having a so called platform sole construction,

In platform sole constructions of the prior art, there have been twodistinct drawbacks, which have retarded the salability, usefulness andcomfort of the same. One of these `drawbacks obtains in the platformsole, where the platform is made of a hard rigid material, such' asWood, ground cork bound with an adhesive, sheet cork, or leather, eitherin blank form or ground and bound together by an adhesive. Platforms ofthese types render the shoe too heavy on the wearers foot, and alsoentirely too rigid or inflexible during walking. To overcome thesedisadvantages, platforms have been made o f Various types of materialwhich are lighter in weight, and more iexible. The most widely usedmaterial in this category has been felt or other fibrous materialsmolded and sewed into the desired shape. This class of platform solealso leaves much to be desired. The softness of the felt and similarmaterials renders this construction unsuitable from the standpoint ofdurability, neatness and fit. f

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a platform shoeconstruction in which standard sole leather may be employed.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a platform shoewhich is free of all the aforementioned drawbacks, and which is as lightin weight, as neat and durable and generally as satisfactory as anystandard shoe construction employing a single sole.

Further it is an object of this invention to provide a platform shoehaving all the advantageous features set forth in the next precedingparagraph, with theadditiona1 advantage of a sec- Ytion of softyieldable material inserted in the tread surface of the outsole or th'einsole, to soften` the tread and cushion the wearers foot duringWalking. v

And finally, it is an object of this invention v generally to improvethe artv of platform shoes and to render the same moresigh'tly,comfortable, durable and simple and cheap to construct.

' These and other objects of the invention will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following description taken inconjunc- Figure 3 is a cross section of a shoe embodying a modified formof the invention.

Figure 4 is a cross section of a shoe embodying k another modification.

Figure 5 is a plan view, partly in perspective of a sole blank, showingseveral operations in its preparation for attachment to the shoe.

Referring in detail to the drawing the shoe I0, having the usual upperII of any suitable style and the heel l2 is provided with an insole I3to which the upper is lasted in a manner well understood in the art. Theessence of this invention resides in the outsole construction, whichwill now be described in detail.

Referring specifically to Figure 5 the blank of leather 20 in the usualsole shape and having the desired thickness is skived along the marginaledge 2I-22 to facilitate the attachment of th'e sole to the upper andinsole. The usual gouged out section 23 to make room for the shankstiffener is provided and the heel breast cover 24 is split away assh'own. This sole blank 20 is now split in its forepart from the pointArat the toe rearwardly to the point B at the shank section, thusseparating the tread portion of the sole for the full width thereof intoan outsole blank or section 30 and a midsole or platform blank orsection 25, which are held together at the section of the blankindicated by the reference letter B. Ihe desired thickness of theplatform sole 25 with respect to the thickness of the outsole 30 may bevaried, Within the limits of the overall thickness of the outsole 2l),merely by suitably adjusting the splitting operation.

Also it will be understood that if it is desired that the midsolesection 25 be of slightly smaller contour than the outsole section 30,as is often done in platform shoes, the said section 25 may be channeledto remove a small rand from the edge thereof, and this should preferablybe done before the splitting operation. After this channelling operationthe marginal edge of 25 will lie within the marginal edge of 30 thusleaving a I narrow shoulder 21,

The marginal edge portion of section 25 is covered with a binding 26 ofany desired material, preferably of the upper leather used in the shoe,or of any other suitable material and of any desired color which willenhance the appearance of the shoe. As seen more clearly in Figure 5,the binding 26 runs from the point 26 forwardly around the margin of 25to the point 26h.

Having split the platform 25 from the outsole su, and bound the edge of25 with the binding material 26, the two parts are no'w joined togetherobvious attendant advantages.

by cementing or otherwise. Rubber cement or latex has been ioundmostsuitable for this purpose.- Y

When the cement has dried the outsole is attached to the insole bycementing, or in any other manner now common in the shoe art.

Finally the heel is attached and breasted, and the remaining necessaryfinishing operations carried out. y

Referring now in detail to Figure 3) a modified form of the invention isdisclosed. The construction of this modification follows that of thevone already described with lthe exception that an insert 40 of creperubber or any other suitable resilient material is inserted in the treadsurface of the outsole member 30, and is cemented in lace. p In order tofix the insert 40 in place, the outsole member 30, after the aforesaidsplitting operation, has its central tread portion cut out, leaving aretaining or supporting rand which surrounds the insert 40, which insertis held in place by its adherence to the member as well as by.

the bevelled walls of the rand formed in 30. (Seev Figure 3.)

Similarly, a spongel rubber insert 50, or indeed an insert of any.suitable soft and resilient material may be inserted in the treadsurface of the midsole or lplatform, as sh'own particularly in Figure 4.By virtue of this construction, the

insert -or pad 50 gives thewearer a soft and resilient supportingsurface for the foot with all the this construction, the platformsection 25 is cut out to receive the pad 50 instead of the outsolesection as described above in connection with Figure 3. Obviously, whenthe sections 25 and 30 are. cemented together as explained above inconnection with Figures 1, 2 and 5, the pad 50 will be locked in place.v l

It will be understood that many ch'anges in ther 'herein disclosedinvention will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.The int vention is therefore not to be limited to any spe- To accomplishciiic details of construction except as denned in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I desire to' ciali?s and secure vbyLetters Patent of the United Sta LIn a, shoe of the class describedhaving an upper. an insole and a heel, and a unitary sole member splitin the forward portion thereof for the full width' thereof from the toeto the forward part of the shank to provide a platform section andanoutsole section. said platform section having a covering over the edgethereof to give the appearance of a separate and independ- `ent partfrom said outsole section, said platform at its forepart for the fullwidth thereof from the toe to the forward part of the shank to form aplatform section and an outsole section, a binding on `the marginal edgeof said platform section, said platform and outsole sections beingattached together and being integral with the rear portion of saidmember, said platform section having an opening therethrough, and aresilient pad positioned in said opening and lying between said insoleand said outsole section.

3. In a shoe of the class described having an upper, an insole, and aheel, a unitary sole member split inthe forward portion thereof for thefull width thereof from the toe to the forward part of the shank toprovide `a platform section and an outsole section, said pla'tformsection having a covering over the edge thereof to give the-

